Before Slokky's wisdom teeth surgery, we decided to have a last hit of spicy food. Before my surgery last year I feasted out at Janani and that kept me satisfied for a day so I didn't have to eat after my surgery. We decided on Korean for Slokky's "last meal", so that's how we found ourselves to Sydney's 2nd Korean capital, Strathfield. We wanted to try Ceci last time but couldn't get a spot, so went to Won Jo Hae Jang Kuk next door instead. This time though, we were determined. We were told there was a 5 minutes wait, so we sat and examined the picture menu while we waited. True to form, 5 minutes later, we were seated and ready to burn.
Food
As is the custom for every Korean meal, before the "main" meal, an assortment of accompaniment arrived:
- sweet potato - this had a great texture. Sweet and mashy. The best out of the lot.
- mayo pasta salad - quite bland, with soft pushy spiral pasta, like almost all Asians cook them, yuck!
- kim chi - these were very hot... and not much else
- spicy turnip - I like the complex sauce from this one.
- hot bean paste rice cake - the rice cakes have no taste, but the hot bean paste was great
While we were still trying to figure out what all the different accompaniments were, our main meals arrived. The Cod Soup on Stonebowl ($15) looked spectacular. Succulent pieces of cod swam in a spicy and complex soup that tastes a lot like Japanese soup stock. There were nutricious vegetables in the broth as well. Do what the Koreans do, mix some plain white rice into the soup and drink the whole lot.
The Hoy Spicy rice-cakes with sticky noodle ($10) turned out to be a HUGE plage of translucent sticky noodle, mixed with tubular rice-cakes, cabbage, shallots, capsicums and yes - spam!, all mixed together in the Korean chilli sauce, like those they use to marinate the meat in Korean bbq. It was spicy all right, but very satisfying. Needless to say, a huge portion of it was left untouched.
Rating - 7.5
Atmosphere
Ceci is supposed to be a Korean cafe. Well, the place was filled with either Koreans or Honkies, so it must appeal somewhat. There is always a crowd of people waiting, and as soon as a table leaves, others come to fill their place. I've walked past this place at all hours of day and it is always busy!
The room is decorated with a grey-green and mirrors, with menus stuck up all over the walls. The staff call out a greeting as you enter. There are banquettes seating down one side of the restaurants, and most of the tables are for groups of 2 or 4.
Rating - 1.5
Service
Well, they come nowhere close to the Japanese, but I think it is more because the waiters are constantly busy with so much coming and going. My water was almost always refilled and the food arrived in due time. When we asked for a takeaway container to put our ware, they were more than willing to oblige.
Rating - 3.5
C-factor
Our meal was $25, no extra charges for anything. It's sorta expensive for a casual sort of place, but the servings are HUGE and the food tasty, so... worth it!
Rating - 1
Brownie Points - 13.5
Info
37 The Boulevarde
Strathfield
NSW 2131
Phone (02) 9746 7710
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